Evolution of the HP 48gII

[Eric Rechlin]

The original 48gII had a port that looked like a USB port but was actually a serial port that needed a special cable (USB mini-B on one end, DE-9 on the other end) to operate. However, something about it wasn't quite "normal" (I can't remember if it depended on the device connecting to it to provide power to run the serial port, or if its voltages weren't quite right, or what) which made it somewhat useless for the intended purpose of connecting to serial devices, so it really was only good for connecting to a PC.

For the second iteration of the 48gII, it adopted the 50g approach, with the mini-B connector now being a USB port, and a new port (basically a semi-proprietary version of the mini-B port that was seen in some digital cameras around the turn of the millennium) that provided a serial signal (and once again needed a special cable, but a different special cable).